Doubt, a Parable by John Patrick Shanley
David Arnett
English 102
May 1, 2013
Paper Six Certainty is perfect knowledge that has total security from error; no certainty is used in this play. Emotions are the only fact in this play. Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, was written in 2005. This play is a classic antagonistic pair. Shanley writes about the suspicions of the principal of a catholic school about the new Father at the parish. The principal, Sister Aloysius is the hard charging strict nun, and Father Flynn is the laissez-faire new comer. This play unfolds with the help of Sister James and a student named Donald Muller. Father Flynn has taken a liking to young Mister Muller and Sister Aloysius thinks the Father is up to no good. The principal will stop until she thinks her schoolchildren are safe. Does Sister Aloysius go too far in her quest to get Father Flynn to confess? Sister Aloysius’s old school way of thinking does not mix with Father Flynn's new school approach. Sister Aloysius does not trust Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius noticed the first day of school Father Flynn touch a boy. “On the first day of the school year, I saw you touch William London’s wrist. And I saw him pull away.” (Shanley 1964) This and the fact this parish was his third parish in five years was the catalyst for Sister Aloysius’s conversation with Sister James, Donald Muller’s teacher. Sister Aloysius is aware that Donald Muller is the only black child in her school. Sister Aloysius’s questions discover Father Flynn has taken Mister Muller under his wing. Sister Aloysius already suspects Father Flynn’s wrongdoing. As they are talking, one day Sister Aloysius reveals that she thinks the convent and the rectory do not always agree on the way a Father should be treated. She tells Sister James in the garden, “we might as well be separated by the Atlantic Ocean.” (Shanley 1946) Sister Aloysius is speaking of the garden Arnett 2 separating the convent from the rectory, but she is also
English 102
May 1, 2013
Paper Six Certainty is perfect knowledge that has total security from error; no certainty is used in this play. Emotions are the only fact in this play. Doubt, A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, was written in 2005. This play is a classic antagonistic pair. Shanley writes about the suspicions of the principal of a catholic school about the new Father at the parish. The principal, Sister Aloysius is the hard charging strict nun, and Father Flynn is the laissez-faire new comer. This play unfolds with the help of Sister James and a student named Donald Muller. Father Flynn has taken a liking to young Mister Muller and Sister Aloysius thinks the Father is up to no good. The principal will stop until she thinks her schoolchildren are safe. Does Sister Aloysius go too far in her quest to get Father Flynn to confess? Sister Aloysius’s old school way of thinking does not mix with Father Flynn's new school approach. Sister Aloysius does not trust Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius noticed the first day of school Father Flynn touch a boy. “On the first day of the school year, I saw you touch William London’s wrist. And I saw him pull away.” (Shanley 1964) This and the fact this parish was his third parish in five years was the catalyst for Sister Aloysius’s conversation with Sister James, Donald Muller’s teacher. Sister Aloysius is aware that Donald Muller is the only black child in her school. Sister Aloysius’s questions discover Father Flynn has taken Mister Muller under his wing. Sister Aloysius already suspects Father Flynn’s wrongdoing. As they are talking, one day Sister Aloysius reveals that she thinks the convent and the rectory do not always agree on the way a Father should be treated. She tells Sister James in the garden, “we might as well be separated by the Atlantic Ocean.” (Shanley 1946) Sister Aloysius is speaking of the garden Arnett 2 separating the convent from the rectory, but she is also